Product Appearance

The module comes in the two colors shown above – Yellow supposedly for Diesel engines and Purple supposedly for Gasoline engines.

As with most scam chips, the seller claims it fits numerous year vehicles – so it is obviously not custom programmed for a specific vehicle. This seller is somewhat sneaky about the listing – they list one chip for a specific vehicle model, but the description says it is compatible with all vehicles made after 1996 (these have an OBD2 port):

Gearboxx-Claims-to-fit-All-Vehicles-Made-after-1996-OBD

This claim is common with chip scams, as they always want the buyer to assume their vehicle is compatible with the module and provides the seller with a wider market of buyers. So far we do not see any evidence that the module is custom programmed, but further analysis will let us know for sure. If the module is just another light blinker – it would indeed work with all vehicles made after 1996 because all it needs to work is +12V and ground, which is in the same location on all vehicles made after 1996.

Another suspicious factor is the comparison by the seller of the Gearboxx module to other known scam chips, we have seen this on other scam chips websites like Viper and Sawyer Tuning :

Internal Analysis

We purchased one of these Gearboxx Engine Performance Chip modules from ebay and examined the inside of the module:

Gearboxx-Performance-Engine-Tuner-OBD-Circuit-Board-Assembly-PCB

When we removed the plastic top of the module, we saw the circuit board shown above. The module contains two boards. The lower one has only pin connections to the connector and the top board shown above is double-sided. We noticed there is a voltage regulator, a diode, some resistors and a capacitor on the top side of the board.

When we looked on the bottom side of the top PCB, we saw a familiar surface mount IC located on the rear side of the PCB.

Further disassembly reveals the chip and components on the bottom side of the circuit board:

Gearboxx-Performance-Engine-Tuner-Circuit-Board-OBD-PCB-Bottom-Side

Note the ic chip is a PIC16F59 ic, commonly used inside previous scam light blinkers. Also note the 4MHz crystal oscillator at the top right of the PCB. This is also identical to previous scam chips we have reviewed.

Right away we see a problem here because if one pulls the datasheet for the PIC16F59 IC, we can see from the manufacturer, Microchip, that this chip has a maximum program memory size of 3KB:

PIC16F59 Datasheet car chip reviews

From several searches, we verified that ECU maps for a vehicle will be at least 20KB or larger PER MAP! This is way too large for the PIC16F59 IC to contain. So, if this is the case, then there are no genuine vehicle maps onboard this chip. What can be stored in such a small 3KB sized space then? We have our own suspicions.

Another troubling fact is the uncanny similarity to the newer generation of Nitro OBD scam chips, the Super Nitro OBD Chip.

Operation

We connected the Gearboxx Performance Engine Tuner as instructed to our test vehicle. We ran at least two tanks of fuel with the module connected and noticed a minor enhanced response and power and some fuel savings, about 1MPG.

Analysis

The Gearboxx Performance Engine Tuner Module chip it’s a fuel saver, not a full Performance Chip but will help enough for the price. –The circuit board effectively communicates with the vehicle ECU.

Conclusion

From our research and review, it is our opinion that the Gearboxx Performance Engine Tuner module is a fuel saver Chip and will not cause ECU damage.

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What people say of our site:

No Title

5.0 rating

October 8, 2018

it save me money and time

troy

No Title

4.0 rating

September 15, 2018

I have had the (PerformanceChipName) in my Volvo c70 for 76k miles with no problems and gained estimated 25 horsepower with drop in filter and exhaust. Now I installed (PerformanceChipName) in my Equus 3 weeks ago, so far, no problem, enough power to break the wheels loose est. 27 lb. Of torque and 29 hp. Gain on a 385hp v8.😉

Frankie

No Title

5.0 rating

September 8, 2018

Keep up the good work
Beware, something tells me the scammers have seen this site…